Integrated Amplifiers - Luxman vs Pass Labs

Since Hgeifman and Erik Squires have mentioned, I might just add a little here. It’s good to note that 2 persons who have made the comparison prefer the Luxman to the Pass Labs.

Although I did not have the opportunity to listen to a Pass Labs, the Luxman, to me is a splendid amp. In my case the L-590AXII. I truly believe it’s my endgame amp, the final destination so to speak. Although I may not have the privilege of trying everything out there (who does anyway), I’ve stopped searching already. Once you get the gear right, it will be out of the way as the music takes over.

Good luck with whatever you end up with, the Pass Labs, Luxman or something else. In the end, it’s the music that matters.

Meo,

I chose the Pass Brand because after seeing Guttenbergs video of Nelson's 

home I thought -If Pass uses Tannoys to voice his amps and I own Tannoys

the hard work is over. Gotta have Pass. 

Meantime I hear Coda is supposed to be better. Never heard it.

As far as Luxman goes, I think they have upped their game in the last few years.

I never had both in my home to a/b. I did hear the $5k Lux Int paired with

Paradigm Founder $5k speakers in November. That was sound I could live with.

I hear your concerns about worrying over tube gear. Hum, wear. I had a Cary

120 amp and sold it to buy the Pass. Now I miss the tube sound so I may look into

the new ARC I-50 Integrated. Waiting for some legit reviews.

You might buy an XA 25 amp and see how you like it. Used they were selling at

$3k. To a/b you will need a to buy the Lux also.

Keep us posted please.

I want to reiterate, I don't personally care if the OP buys a Pass or Luxman.  I do think that in many situations the two are so different the OP will absolutely come out of that shoot out with a strong preference of their own.

These are just not amps you should buy based on anyone else's hearing.

BTW, I have never heard an amp more full sounding than my current Luxman 507 which sounds closest to a D’Agostino to me. The extension from bass to treble is outstanding, but I never heard the class A equivalents. It may be worthwhile for the OP to compare the two.

Thank you to all that have posted thus far.  There's a lot of great feedback, experiences and suggestions that I'll take into consideration.

I should also add that I've recently owned the Luxman L-505ux so I have had a taste of the A/B Luxman sound vs Class A Luxman.

I very much like the Luxman sound. I find the mids to be wonderful and the vocals to be accurate and life-like.  I guess what I'm yearning for is just a bit more extension in the vocals (maybe the vocal presentation to be slightly more forward in relation to the mids ???) and a bit more presence and warmth in the lower octaves, though Luxman is no slouch in this area. 

I realize that Luxman and Pass are both great brands and produce wonderful products with different sound signatures. In a perfect world I would love the opportunity to A / B both products in-house.  At this time, it is not possible to do. 

I believe it has been somewhat eluded to in a couple prior posts but can anyone be more specific about the Pass sound (more specifically the Integrated's but also the overall house sound of Pass) such as: 

1)  is one frequency a little more pronounced than the others ie. is the treble / vocals a little more forward or recessed from the mids Or is the bass more prominent than the mids which might not make the mids sound as clear Or are the mids the dominant sound quality Etc...  

2)  what is the soundstage like in terms of width and depth 

3)  How would you describe the sound in terms of Hi-Fi vs Natural sounding (I recognize this is very subjective terminology but I think you get the gist of what I'm asking)

4)  Do you find the sound to be veiled in anyway:  No veil (extremely revealing, in the room with you experience), a thin veil (a thin film of dust or piece of paper in front of it), quite veiled (a blanket in front of it)

Answers to these or any other input you may have will help me to get a sense of the Pass sound presentation vs my experience with the Luxman brand.

Again, thank you to all that have so far taken the time to articulate your thoughts and experiences. Keep them coming!